At the camping by Lake Ohrid we met Debbi & Benni from Holland. They are making a similar trip to ours. They are planning to stay on the road for two years and are heading for Nepal. We were told about them already in the Czech Republic by Alex and Ilona. How strange it might seem we felt that we probably will run in to them somewhere along the way – and we did! Debbi & Benni are also making a
website
about their trip, but this far it is only in Dutch but they plan to translate it in to English.

We decided to leave the campsite and go wild camping” at the beach with Debbi & Benni. They are traveling with two big dogs that bark if some one comes near the camp.

28/8 Lake Ohrid, Macedonia

Lat N 41° 02,26', Long E 20° 48,36' Today: 87.8 °F (
+31 °C)

28 Aug 2005

13444 km

Today we had a day at the beach at Lake Ohrid, a fresh water lake that is the holiday resort of the Macedonians. The water was clean and we could use it to wash ourselves. When wild camping we have not access to fresh water for our shower.

We swapped DVD films, experiences and tips about good camping sites with Debbie & Bennie. Money, mafia and politics, are the constant subjects for discussions in the Balkans. This was proven again when a group young people stopped at the beach at midnight to drink beer with us. It is important keep a low profile and not talk about or show what values we have in our car. It feels good to have a safe.

29/8 Lake Ohrid, Macedonia

Lat N 41° 02,26', Long E 20° 48,36' Today: 89.6 °F (
+32 °C)

29 Aug 2005

13444 km

Bert did some work on the car. He repaired the brake light switch, the voltmeter and fixed a doorstopper. It takes time to think about new smart solutions and to carry them through.

It was not a lot of fish for four people and we decided to go to the village to find something to eat instead. We had sweet peppers and spicy peppers with a local kind cheese, Greek salad, bread, beer and coca cola for only 5 US per person.

We went to the Internet cafe to upload today. It was quite a while since the last time, and we had already got several SMS asking when the next upload was supposed to be. It is nice to know that you are curios about what is happening and want to read about it. You should also know that we are looking forward to hear from you all. This time we got 21 e-mails!

30/8 Lake Ohrid, Macedonia

Lat N 41° 02,26', Long E 20° 48,36' Today: 86 °F (
+30 °C)

30 Aug 2005

13444 km

Today we got an early start, because we didn’t want to drive the 180 kilometers to Skopje in the midday heat. We save a lot of money wild camping, but it has its disadvantages; lack of washing-up facilities, toilets, showers and fresh water. But most of the parts works unusually well by a clean fresh water lake. To visit the lavatory we do as soon as an opportunity shows, for example at a petrol station or a restaurant.

We said goodbye to Bennie & Debbie. It was great meeting someone else that is making the same kind of trip as we do. Hopefully we will meet them again somewhere in the world, and we are already looking forward to it!

In the highway just before Skopje there were four toll roads. But it was not expensive, only 1,5$ in total. All the roads in Macedonia have a surprisingly good standard, and by this we do not mean only the toll roads.

In 1963 Skopje was almost totally destroyed by an earthquake. With money from emergency relief the town was rebuilt again. The architects got delusions of grandeur when the money was poring in, and you can find some hideous buildings.

31/8 Skopje, Macedonia

Lat N 41° 59,80', Long E 21° 33,17' Today: 86 °F (
+30 °C)

31 Aug 2005

13680 km

We started the day by getting caught in a radar speed check right before the border to Kosovo. It was a 50 km/hour road and the radar showed that we had driven 69 km/hour, and that was probably true too. The policemen wanted to give us a ”ticket 36 €”. Then they looked at our car and asked ”From Sweden? OK, Go, go!” We jumped in our car and drove off quickly, we did not want to give them the opportunity to change their minds…

When we where looking for a place to have lunch we were not able to find one, so we asked a couple of policemen. They gave us police escort to a restaurant in town three kilometers away. We like the Macedonian police – they are nice guys!

People in the Balkans are hot-tempered. Yesterday in Skopje there was a fight in the middle of the street between a motorist and moped driver, that caused a heavy traffic jam. And among the first things that we saw in Serbia was a fight between a motorist and a taxi driver.

The rest of the day our adventures was about us getting in to Kosovo. It resulted in a lot of stories and photos that it deserves an own page.